SB 708 - This act modifies various provisions relating to civil actions, including the funding and financing of civil and administrative claims, collateral source rule, statutes of limitations, settlement demands to liability insurers, determination of fault, statutory public nuisance actions, and disclosure requirements in civil actions for latent injuries. CONSUMER LEGAL FUNDING ACT (SECTIONS 436.550 TO 436.570) This act creates the "Consumer Legal Funding Act" which establishes provisions relating to contracts for consumer legal funding. The act describes a "consumer legal funding contract" as a nonrecourse contractual transaction in which a consumer legal funding company purchases and a consumer assigns to the company a contingent right to receive potential proceeds from a settlement, judgment, award, or verdict obtained in the consumer’s legal claim. Additionally, the act provides requirements to be included in any such contract. The company shall provide the consumer’s attorney with a written notice of the contract within three business days of the funding date. The contract is only to be entered into if an existing legal claim in which the consumer is represented by an attorney and shall not be valid if its terms exceed a period of forty-eight months. Additionally, no consumer legal funding contract shall be automatically renewed. This act also provides that actions that cannot be taken by the company, such as paying or offering to pay or accepting commissions, referral fees, or other forms of consideration from attorneys or certain healthcare providers, intentionally advertising false or misleading information about products or services, or receiving any right to make decisions relating to the conduct of the underlying legal claim or resolution thereof. Under this act, all consumer legal funding contracts shall contain disclosures regarding material terms of the contract. The act provides for specific language to be included in the body of the contract, such as itemization of one-time charges, the total amount assigned by the consumer, and payment schedule. The act provides that only attorney’s liens related to the legal claim, Medicare, or other statutory liens related to the legal claim take priority over claims to proceeds from the consumer legal funding company. Additionally, no consumer legal funding company shall report a consumer to a credit reporting agency if insufficient funds remain from the net proceeds to repay the consumer. A consumer legal funding company shall not engage in the business of consumer legal funding in the state of Missouri without obtaining a license from the Division of Finance. The initial or renewal license applications are required to be in writing, made under oath, and on the form provided by the Director of the Department of Finance. The act provides for fees associated with licensing. If the Director of the Division of Finance determines that any consumer legal funding company fails to meet its obligations under this act, or any provisions relating to consumer legal funding, the Director may issue an order to cease and desist which is enforceable by a civil penalty of no more than one thousand dollar per day for each day a violation occurs. Furthermore, if any consumer legal funding company fails to comply with the provision of this act, or any laws relating to consumer legal funding, its license may be suspended or revoked by the Director of the Division of Finance. The Division of Finance may also investigate and examine each consumer funding company as necessary to carry out this act. These provisions are substantially similar to SB 342 (2023) and are similar to HB 628 (2023), HCS/HB 2771 (2022), SB 504 (2019), HB 550 (2019), SB 957 (2018), HB 2251 (2018), HB 74 (2017), SB 162 (2017), SB 882 (2016), HB 1706 (2016), SB 785 (2016), SB 360 (2015), HB 512 (2015), SB 542 (2014), HB 1569 (2014), and SB 440 (2013). CONSUMER LITIGATION FINANCING ACT (SECTIONS 436.571 TO 436.480) Additionally, this act creates the "Consumer Litigation Financing Act". The term "litigation financing transaction" is defined as a nonrecourse transaction in which financing is provided to a consumer in return for the consumer assigning a contingent right to receive moneys from the settlement, judgment, award, or verdict from a consumer’s legal claim. Under this act, all civil litigation funding is required to meet certain requirements. This act applies to any class actions but does not apply to litigation financing provided to commercial enterprises. Under this act, a litigation financier shall not engage in the business of consumer legal funding unless it has first obtained a license from the Division of Finance and met certain requirements, including the posting of a surety bond not to exceed fifty thousand dollars. Additionally, the Director of the Division of Finance may deny, suspend, revoke, and place other restrictions on the issuance of the license if a litigation financier is in violation of this act. In the event a litigation financier fails to perform its obligations under this act, the Director of the Division of Finance may take disciplinary actions. Additionally, this act details actions that cannot be taken by the litigation financier. The act also provides that the written contract shall be completely filled in and provides disclosures to be included in the contract which are regarded as material terms of the contract. The act details requirements of the construction of the litigation financing agreement. The existence of litigation financing arrangements and all participants are subject to discovery in personal injury litigation or matters arising out of personal injuries. Furthermore, the practice of litigation financing is regulated by the Division of Finance and any violation of the provision in this act shall make the contract unenforceable by the parties or any successor-in-interest. These provisions are identical to SB 342 (2023) and are similar to HB 628 (2023) and HCS/HB 2771 (2022). COLLATERAL SOURCE RULE (SECTION 490.715) This act modifies the rule for determining the admissibility of evidence of collateral source payments in civil cases. The act provides that no party shall introduce evidence of the amount billed for medical care or treatment rendered to a plaintiff or a patient at issue in the case if the amount billed has been discounted pursuant to any contract, price reduction, write-off, or payment less than the amount billed for the medical care or treatment. The actual cost of medical care or treatment rendered to a plaintiff or a patient and any discounts pursuant to a contract, price reduction or write-off shall be admissible as relevant to the potential cost of future treatment. This provision is identical to HB 273 (2023), SB 975 (2022), HB 1715 (2022), a provision in HCS/SCS/SB 119 (2021), and in the perfected HCS/HB 922 (2021), and is similar to HB 147 (2021), HCS/HB 577 (2021), HB 121 (2019), and HB 1407 (2018). STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS (SECTIONS 516.120 AND 516.140) Currently, actions for personal injury shall be brought within five years from the time the injury occurred. This act states that actions for personal injury are to be brought within two years from the time the injury occurred. Additionally, current actions against an insurer relating to uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage, including any action to enforce such coverage, are to be brought within ten years. This act modifies the statute of limitations for such actions to be brought within two years. These provisions are identical to provisions in SB 117 (2023), SCS/SB 631 (2022) and SB 1243 (2022), and are similar to HB 272 (2023), HB 2206 (2022), provisions in SS/SB 3 (2021), in HCS/SCS/SB 119 (2021), HB 855 (2021), in HCS/HB 922 (2021), SB 633 (2020), SB 96 (2019), and SB 934 (2018). SETTLEMENT DEMANDS TO LIABILITY INSURERS (SECTION 537.058) Currently, offers to settle any claim for person injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death on behalf of a claimant that are required to be accepted within a specified period of time by a tort-feasor with a liability insurer are required to contain the time period within which the offer remains open for acceptance, which shall not be less than ninety days from the date such demand is received by the liability insurer. This act modifies the provision by providing that in any action alleging extracontractual damages against the tort-feasor's liability insurer, any prior offers to settle any claim for person injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death on behalf of a claimant to a tort-feasor with a liability insurance policy shall not be considered a reasonable opportunity to settle the claim unless the settlement demand remains open for acceptance for at least ninety days from the date such settlement demand was received by the liability insurer, and if the offer remains open for more than ninety days, the offer shall contain the time period within which acceptance may be given. This provision is identical to SB 466 (2023) and is substantially similar to HB 1009 (2023). DETERMINATION OF FAULT (SECTIONS 537.059, 537.060 & 537.067) In all tort actions in which any party contends that damages were caused by the alleged fault of more than one person or entity, the trier of fact shall determine the amount of fault attributable to each person or entity, regardless of whether the person or entity is a party to the action and regardless of whether the person or entity has settled or been released from liability. Fault of another person or entity may be alleged by any party in the action in any claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or as an affirmative defense. Any determination of fault attributable to a person or entity not a party to the action shall not be binding against or otherwise affect the rights or liabilities of the person or entity. Current law provides that an agreement by release, covenant not to sue or not to enforce a judgment given in good faith to one of two or more persons liable in tort for the same injury or wrongful death shall reduce the claim for damages by the greater of either the stipulated amount of the agreement or the amount of consideration paid. Further, the agreement shall discharge the tort-feasor to whom it is given from all liability for contribution or noncontractual indemnity, as defined, to any other tort-feasor. This act repeals this provision and provides that in all tort-actions for damages, if the defendant is found to bear 51% or more of the fault, then the defendant shall be jointly and severally liable for the amount of the judgment less the total of any stipulated amount in any release, covenant not to sue or not to enforce a judgment under any agreement with any other person or entity alleged to have been at fault, or any consideration paid by such person or entity, whichever is greater. These provisions are identical to SB 467 (2023) and provisions in SB 669 (2022) and are similar to provisions in SB 1243 (2022). STATUTORY PUBLIC NUISANCE ACTIONS (SECTIONS 537.291 TO 537.293) This act established a statutory cause of action for damages arising out of a public nuisance and replaces any such common law cause of action to the contrary. This act defines a public nuisance as an unlawful condition that violates an established public right, which is defined as those rights commonly held by all members of the public to the use of public land, air, and water. The provisions of this act provide the only remedies for a civil action for damages arising out of a public nuisance in this state. However, the provisions of this act shall not affect the following: (1) The availability of a remedy for criminal conduct and designated as a public and common nuisance; or (2) The authority of a governmental entity to take regulatory or enforcement action authorized by law in connection with a condition designated by statute or local ordinance as a public nuisance. The act shall apply only to any cause of action that accrues on or after August 28, 2023, and current law shall continue to apply to any cause of action accruing before such date. This act provides that a person shall be held liable for a public nuisance if the person causes an unlawful condition and controls that unlawful condition at the time the condition violates an established public right. Conditions arising from the following conduct shall not be considered unlawful conditions: (1) An activity expressly authorized or encouraged by a provision of law, ordinance, rule, or other measure adopted by this state, political subdivision of this state, the United States, or an agency of this state or the United States; (2) The lawful manufacturing, distributing, selling, advertising, or promoting of a lawful product. The aggregation of multiple individual injuries or private nuisances does not constitute violations of an established public right. Additionally, this act provides that public nuisance actions may only be brought by the state or a political subdivision thereof and only through a government attorney of the relevant jurisdiction unless there is a contract to retain a private attorney that meets certain requirements provided by this act. Furthermore, this act requires that the state or political subdivision bringing the action shall have a substantial ownership interest in or authority over the real property or waterway, or ancillary space related to such real property or waterway, to which the public nuisance relates. Absent clear and convincing evidence, it shall be presumed that only a single governmental entity within this state has standing to file or maintain a public nuisance action relating to the real property, waterway, or ancillary space to which the public nuisance relates. However, an individual may maintain an action to enjoin a public nuisance only if the individual can show a special injury by clear and convincing evidence. Use of or damage to public land, air, or water with only personal, spiritual, cultural, or emotional significance to the individual is not a special injury. Additionally, this act provides that an individual is not allowed to seek relief for both a public nuisance and a private nuisance for harm related to the same unlawful condition. Remedies available for a public nuisance action are limited to injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the unlawful condition from violating an established public right and monetary and nonmonetary resources necessary to abate the public nuisance. This act is identical to SB 207 (2023), HB 1119 (2023), and SB 1174 (2022) and is substantially similar to HB 2807 (2022). DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS IN CIVIL ACTIONS FOR LATENT INJURIES (SECTION 537.870) This act further provides that within 30 days of filing a civil action alleging a latent injury, a plaintiff shall provide the parties with a sworn form specifying the evidence that provides the basis for each claim against each defendant and shall include certain disclosures detailed in the act. The plaintiff shall continually supplement or amend the required disclosures, including when new exposure history information is received or when the plaintiff becomes aware that a prior disclosure was inaccurate or incomplete. Additionally, this act provides that discovery in such action shall not commence against a defendant until the defendant's product, substance, or premises is specifically identified in the disclosures. The court, on motion by a defendant, shall dismiss the action without prejudice for any defendant that was not specifically identified in the disclosures or when a plaintiff fails to comply with the requirements of this provision. KATIE O'BRIEN